Commonly used terms - A
Alveoli:
These are the thousands of tiny sacs, which make the ‘spongy’
tissue of our lungs. Oxygen passes through its very thin wall and into the
bloodstream whilst carbon dioxide passes from the bloodstream, into the alveoli
and is breathed out.
Analgesia:
This means to be without pain. Analgesics are the drugs we use
to relieve pain.
Antibiotics:
Labour may be prematurely brought on by infection in the mother or fetus.
Because of this many babies admitted to the unit are given antibiotics until it
has been shown that they do not have an infection. The most common antibiotics
used are Penicillin and Gentamicin.
The antibiotics will usually be given directly into a vein. A
small amount of blood will be sent to the laboratory to check for infection
(this is called a blood culture). The
results of these tests usually take around 48 hours to be known. Once the result is known a decision
will be made about whether the antibiotics can be stopped at that time.
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Apnoea of prematurity:
An apnoea is when a baby pauses their breathing for a period of
20 seconds or longer. When a baby is born too early the part of the brain which
controls breathing is immature meaning that many premature babies will pause their
breathing. This is called apnoea of prematurity and may often be accompanied by
a slowing down of the baby's heart rate (bradycardia). All babies on the
neonatal unit have monitors that warn of apnoeas. Often the baby starts
breathing on his own but occasionally he may need to be stimulated with a
gentle rub or pat. It is also usual to give Caffeine once daily to help stimulate a
baby's breathing.
Most babies will grow out of apnoea of prematurity by the time they are
around 34 weeks gestation.
Asphyxia:
This term is used to describe a lack of oxygen delivery to the tissues of the body.
It is caused by a lack of blood supply and oxygen to the tissues. The commonest
time for asphyxia to occur is when a baby gets into difficulty during labour.
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Aspirate:
This word is used in 2 different ways on the neonatal unit.
First, ‘checking the aspirate’ means finding out how much milk is in the
stomach, as well as checking where the end of the nasogastric tube is, before putting a milk feed down
the tube. To do this we attach a syringe to the end of the feeding tube to suck
up a small amount of a baby’s stomach contents, which is squirted onto blue
litmus paper. If the tube is in the stomach, the aspirated liquid contains acid
and the litmus paper turns pink. This means it is safe to put milk down the feeding tube.
Secondly, to aspirate can mean to inhale something other than
air into the lungs. Sometimes, during a difficult labour, a baby may breathe
before he has been fully delivered. As a result he may inhale (aspirate) some
meconium into his lungs. This is called meconium aspiration, which can be a
serious condition.
ANNP:
Advanced neonatal nurse practitioner. These are nurses who have studied to a
very high level in the care of sick babies.
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Antibody:
There are millions of antibodies in the blood and their job is to fight
disease or infections.
Arterial Line:
This is a cannula inserted into an artery. This may be in the umbilicus,
wrist or ankle. A small amount of fluid is infused into this line to keep it
open and at the same time a baby's blood pressure can be measured continuously. Also, when
blood samples are required for tests, they can be taken from an arterial line
avoiding needles and therefore pain in the baby.
Audiologist:
Someone who will test a baby's hearing.
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